pup_on_the_mountain

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Unfortunately, there were some change of plans on my side, and I ended up driving only this morning. May be I'll take up on one of these suggestions next time.

I have to be in Portland this Saturday evening (and Sunday). I'll be driving from Pullman, and can start driving Friday afternoon. I'd love to get some climbing done on Saturday before getting to Portland (I have to be in Portland by 8 pm at the latest). What would you suggest? I'm open to ideas - cragging or something alpine, even volcano slogs. Would Mt Jefferson be even worth considering, and if yes soloable? I've not done much in Oregon (except the Savage Mountain by Leuthold's Couloir), so wouldn't mind checking out an easy route somewhere I haven't been to. If something sounds really appealing and would require partner(s), I'll post separately asking for the same. TIA

I heard they got some snow recently. It might all be gone if the weather warmed back up since then though...

But Bill, if sport=pleasuring yourself, what is bouldering=??

Its more like 32 miles RT with 7500 ft gain, but can be done in less than 24 hrs for sure (not by me though ). For instance, look at the times that Leor (Off_the_hook) has been clocking recently. May be he'll set the bar for Dome before the season is over...

Liberty Ridge doesn't even come close. I mean it is easily doable in a day. Heck, didn't Sky climb and ski it in a trip that took less than 24 hrs home-to-home two years back? From what I've read, I seem to remember that its usually the out-of-staters who tend to take a long time (>= 3 days), and in several cases, that is due to these teams planning their trip way ahead and still pushing through with their climb under less than perfect conditions.

Many books to recommend, but here's a good one that, surprisingly, many have not heard of. I found The Climb up to Hell to be a great read. Its written by a journalist (who was not a climber himself), and is about a rescue on the Eiger N Face.

Dan Smith and I started too early in the morning from the base of Eldorado East Ridge bivy, and completely missed this turn-off!! We had a grand tour of the Inspiration and MacAllister glaciers contouring to the end and around the towers . While the glaciers reminded of Rainier or Baker, we could've saved the extra 2.5 hrs for another day. I thought the route itself was fun though. Lots of easier stuff mixed with several pitches of moderate climbing. Settings are great, and the summit ridge pitch is quite similar to Forbidden WR. The team ahead of us seemed to be seeking out harder variations, and the line was not super obvious - so, you may run into harder sections if you "try". If you haven't seen it already, we followed this TR - had better beta than Nelson Vol II. Have fun!

I read this whole thread today. A big WOW!! Incredibly fascinating to say the least. Thanks a bunch for all the contributors; especially Lowell, Harry, John, Dru, Caveman, Klenke et al. BTW, any updates on the Ptarmigan Scrapbook? Is it any closer to being found and preserved???

ESPN Video on Nanda Devi.

Makes more sense now. So, while you make the liner fit your feet better, you're also sort of pushing your liner out, such that it fits more tightly in the boot, right? In my case, the liner fits my feet well, and hence I'd hate to alter that fit. At the same time, the whole liner some times slips out of the boot at the heal, especially when I front point. I guess Gene also has a similar issue - just as he says, lacing the outer boot tight does not seem to help much. What I'm looking for is a set-up that will make the liner stick to the boot better, thus keeping it in position. May be I'll experiment with some sort of "padding" between the liner and the boot...

I'm interested in this question as well! Thanks for your suggestion Matt, but, I'm not able to picture your setting. If I guessed correctly, you put the padding (or 'x' collar) between the liner and the plastic boot, and glue it to the (inside of the) plastic boot. Is this correct? If yes, then do you "style" the padding with your liners on, or on your bare foot?

Isn't it supposed to be the same distance (~11 miles) to Prusik from both Snow Lake TH and the Colchuck Lake TH? Why not just go back the way you came in? Any particular reason for using the bikes?

Okay. Move along people! Nothing to see here ...

Did the North Ridge on Sunday (car-to-car in a long day). Route is still in great shape. We thought another team ahead of us took the left entrance (lower option) to gain the ridge. There was evidence of tons of rock fall in the right gully (higher option), but we got there before the Sun, and hence did not see any rock fall as we climbed through it. We started on the glacier a bit too early - should've waited till we had some light so that we could see better. We got a little greedy, tried to cut left and up too soon (around 6200 ft), and had to weave through numerous crevasses before we stumbled on the bootpath that Terry mentioned (at 6500 ft). Looking from below, we thought there were numerous bootpaths up the right gully, but realized when we got closer that they were in fact rock fall tracks! Some of them worked great as steps still!! It sure is a route of thunk after thunk after thunk, and the settings are unbeatable. Thanks for the motivation guys! Here are a few pics. Early morning crevasse shenanigans: Stephen in entrance gully: At the belay before the ice pitch. Go Cougs!!: On the upper portions after the ice pitch: Approaching the seracs (the "secret passage" is towards the left end): Summit burrito!!:

I got cited for 70 on 60 mph road (Hwy 26, soon after getting on to it Eastbound from I-90). There was a passing lane, and I was actually overtaking another car (with the intentions of going on a cruise after passing him - that section of Hwy 26 is notorious for cops, and I usually never go more than 7 or 8 above the limit). The cop said the other car was already going fast, and hence I had no need to overtake, since there were two lanes. He claimed he clocked me at 78 mph on his radar, but cited me only for 70 mph. What makes this ticket interesting is my driving license though. I used to live in North Carolina before moving to WA in August 2004, and I still have my NC license (valid till April 2008). My car is registered in WA though. I have no violations on my NC record currently - the last speeding ticket was in 2001 or 2002, and I know that they keep these things in record only for three years. When the cop asked me for license and registration, I pulled my license out of my wallet, and reached for the registration in the glove compartment. By mistake, I handed him the old registration card from NC (it expired in 2005), but the cop did not question it! I realized this mistake only after he gave me back the ticket+license+registration. The cop of course could see my number plate, and may be he pulled up the car on his computer, may be not. He put my old NC address (in my license and in the expired registration) on the ticket, which makes me want to think that he did not check my car license plate on his computer (my current WA registration has my current address as well). So, here is my question. Should I just pay the fine ($113), and hope that the powers-that-be will not keep it on the records, since its an NC driver's license? Of course, I was planning to get my WA driver's license soon. Will I start with a "clean slate" when I get my WA license? Or is it the case that they will track me down using my car number plate (registration), and add the ticket/points on to my WA license record once I get it? As I mentioned, I do have a clean record. I had gotten four tickets in four different states, but those were all ages ago , and only one of them went into my NC record for a 54 mph on a 45 (no insurance points in NC). So, should I go to court and try to get a deferment, or seek some other kind of merciful pardon instead? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the tips Terry!

Not sure if you're way bigger than size 11.. but I have the Arctis Exped size 9 and La Sportiva Glacier size 9, and the Koflachs have way more room than the Sportivas of the same size. It might be worth trying them...

I use a snug-fitting frame when climbing - has held so far. Nothing special about the frame. At the same time, I ALWAYS carry my main pair of glasses with me when I go climbing. Again, I've never had to use the second pair, but I'd hate to be stuck in the mountains with limited eyesight. I also used to carry a glasses repair kit with me. These are cheap - $1 or $2 from any drug store. They have a pair of spare screws, a pair of nose pads, and the cap of the kit has a screw driver that could handle the screws in most frames. Very lightweight as well. On a related note, its strange how we miss some of the little things once in a blue moon when we're outside. How many of us carry spare shoe/boot laces for instance?

Cool TR and pics! Do you guys think the route will still be in shape for this weekend? How (bad) was the glacier to get to the base of the hourglass? TIA!

Athabasca NF on Saturday (July 28, 07): Close-up of upper NF: Exit at the top of the hourglass + seracs: Andromeda: It has been quite hot over there for the past several days. The routes are supposedly mostly ice (I only climbed a variation of the Siverhorn). There was rockfall in the hourglass as early as 8:00 am. I read in the MCR that Skyladder is melted out already, and is mostly out of condition. We met a team that did the North Bowl on Andromeda on Saturday though, and they said the route was all ice. We did not see any big slides, but there was one the previous Monday before the day we were there (check previous MCRs) way on the climber's left side on the North Glacier. The Park Wardens advised us to do the AA Col route, but all teams used the North Glacier on Saturday. September seems a long way off - things will look mighty different by then. As you already know, insist on cold conditions. Have fun up there - what a magnificient place!!

Fantastic!!

Nice!!! I wish I knew the names of all the beautiful flowers that I see on the mountains like you! Thanx for sharing the pics and TR. Don't listen to these naysayers.. don't ever get a job. Just keep climbing .